Role Summary & Benefits

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About us

At North Somerset Educational Psychology Service, we are a small, close-knit team proud of our strong, supportive culture. Together, we developed our core values: compassion, trust, honesty, and respect which guide everything we do. Team members often highlight our collaborative approach and positive team relationships as key strengths that enhance wellbeing and job satisfaction.

We are introducing a new focus on community psychology to strengthen inclusive practice across local communities. One of these posts will include a leadership role in piloting this work and shaping a model for community-based practice.

Each psychologist in our team leads on an area of interest that aligns with their expertise and passion. We actively encourage innovation and welcome ideas that improve outcomes for children, families, and schools. Whether you’re drawn to our community psychology initiative or have your own vision for service development, these roles offer genuine opportunities to influence direction and make a meaningful impact.

As an impact-led team, our work is focused on using psychology to make impactful and positive change for children and young people. Last year, following EP involvement pupils’ progress towards their learning targets increased by 96.9%, and levels of reported loneliness reduced by more than 11 points. The voices of young people remain central to our work, with one pupil reflecting, “She [the EP] made me feel that my dream could be possible.” We strive to gather data across all aspects of our work to ensure EPs can clearly see the impact they are having. For those interested, please refer to our latest annual impact report here.

About the job – Maingrade EP: 

We are seeking dedicated and forward-thinking EPs to join our team, delivering high-quality support across schools within North Somerset. This role offers a unique opportunity to combine direct practice with leadership, development, and innovation.

Key Responsibilities:

• Applying psychology through the delivery of traded services to a cluster of schools within North Somerset. We promote EPs to take autonomy and employ the evidence-based psychological practice that you feel best meets needs.
• Take on a leadership role to enhance support and make strategic developments for children in a key area of need. We are happy to work with you to identify a leadership area and we welcome proposals in areas aligned to your expertise and interests.
• EPs enjoy a varied role, including training design and delivery, ELSA and SENCO supervision, organisational research, and TEP supervision.
• Opportunities to lead preventative work, such as providing CPD and supervision for SENCOs, working with the Virtual School, and supporting teams working with pupils at risk of exclusion.
• Undertake an allocation of statutory work.

Additional information

• All applicants must be a qualified Educational Psychologist or be in your third year of EP training, registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), or, in the case of trainee EPs, expecting to have their registration confirmed following the completion of their recognised training course.
• Our work base is Town Hall, a large, comfortable and modern office in Weston Super-Mare. Staff have access to a council parking permit meaning parking is free. North Somerset is commutable from Bristol and as a relatively small geographical area travelling around the county is usually straightforward.
• We offer flexible working arrangements including home working and flexible hours to support a healthy work-life balance along with a generous annual leave offer.
• We have a generous CPD offer, which includes whole team CPD days every half term. EPs are able to also make individual requests for CPD of particular interest and we will endeavour to support this as often as possible.

If you would like to find out more about these exciting opportunities before applying, we would welcome the chance to have a further discussion. Please contact me on the below details and let me know a convenient time that I can get back to you.

This post is exempt under the provisions of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions) Order 1975 and is subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check.

Want to know more and apply?

For an informal discussion, please contact Dulcie Gray, Senior Educational Psychologist. Email: dulcie.gray@n-somerset.gov.uk

Visit www.n-somerset.gov.uk/my-services/jobs-training/council-jobs to download an application pack and apply online.

  

 

Anticipated interview date:       Thursday 23 October 2025

North Somerset Council is an equal opportunities employer. We welcome applications from all sections of our community regardless of age, disability, sex, race, religion, belief or sexual orientation. North Somerset Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

Key Responsibilities

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  JOB DESCRIPTION  

DIRECTORATE Education Partnerships	SERVICE/TEAM Special Educational Needs
JOB TITLE Educational Psychologist	POST NO	GRADE Soulbury A Point 3 – 8 (plus 3 SPA points as applicable)
REPORTING TO: Principal Educational Psychologist
WORKING TO DELIVER OUR VISION: To make North Somerset a truly great place for children and young people to thrive; where all have the best possible life and opportunities, including those who are vulnerable, disadvantaged and/or have special educational or additional needs.

 

1. Job outline and Purpose of role

  We are looking for an enthusiastic Educational Psychologist to join our team in delivering impactful services that support child development, learning, and additional needs in North Somerset. You will work closely with children, families, teachers, and schools to apply psychology and empower positive outcomes. An excellent opportunity to utilise your expertise to make a real difference.  

2. Main Duties and Responsibilities

   

• To provide an educational psychology service to a group of identified schools.
• Provide consultation to children, families, and schools regarding developmental or learning concerns of children aged 0-25
• Conduct assessments and interventions where appropriate to support children's needs
• Collaborate with our team to continually improve services based on feedback
• Contribute psychological advice for statutory Education, Health and Care assessments and SEND reviews
• Coach school staff and parents on evidence-based strategies to support children's development and learning needs
• Work jointly with other agencies and services to coordinate care
• Monitor and evaluate outcomes of interventions through data collection and analysis
• Participate in relevant training and professional development
• Uphold equal opportunities principles in all aspects of your work
• Comply with health, safety, data protection, and other regulations

3. Benefits

• Meaningful work supporting child development and learning
• Opportunities for growth within a collaborative and ambitious team
• Competitive pay and benefits
• Continuing professional development and training

 

4. Learning and Development

• To regularly review and reflect on professional practice along with colleagues and your line manager to identify areas of further professional learning and development.
• To enrol and engage in regular training and learning opportunities, both internally and externally, in order to promote further professional development and practice.
• To identify and engage in opportunities to share professional practice and experience with other colleagues, students and professionals to promote an ongoing learning environment.
• To identify and support any learning and development needs for workers and managers within the service.

   

4. GENERAL

 

• This job description is not a complete list of duties but gives a general indication of the range of work undertaken. It will vary over time as demands and priorities change. The management team structures within Childrens' Services operate with a high degree of collaboration and flexibility, and post holders are expected to undertake any other duties commensurate with the general level of responsibility of the post
• The nature of the work may involve the jobholder carrying out work outside of normal working hours.
• The post holder may be required to attend, from time to time, training courses, conferences, seminars or other meetings as required by his/her own training needs and the needs of the Service.
• Expenses will be paid in accordance with the Local Conditions of Service.
• This post is subject to a check being carried out at an Enhanced level by the Disclosure and Barring Service regarding any previous criminal record.
• The post holder will be required to provide a car or lease a car from the Authority and to possess a valid driving licence.
• Responsible for all elements of risk management related to the work of the psychology service
• Applicants must be professionally qualified and registered with the HCPC.

                PERSON SPECIFICATION  

DIRECTORATE Education Partnerships	SECTION Special Educational Needs
JOB TITLE Educational Psychologist	GRADE Soulbury A Point 3 – 8 (plus 3 SPA points as applicable)
QUALIFICATION Good honours degree in Psychology or equivalent recognised by the BPS Nationally recognised postgraduate qualification in educational psychology Evidence of continued professional development of in relevant areas
Knowledge Skills and Experience   Essential Knowledge of a broad range of approaches to assessment and intervention, informed by current psychological research and practice Understanding of and commitment to consultation as a framework for service delivery Understanding of and commitment to supporting schools to achieve greater inclusion of children with special educational needs Knowledge, understanding of and commitment to professional codes of ethics Integrity - ability to be open and honest, to maintain high standards of personal behaviour and display strong moral principles Accountability - willingness to take personal responsibility for your actions and decisions, and to understand the consequences of your behaviour A demonstrable willingness to share information and work with other people, including the ability to listen, communicate with and understand others, taking account of other people’s points of view Excellent inter-personal skills including ability to communicate well orally and in writing Knowledge of the broad range of service users supported by the EPS, along with an understanding of the different needs across these groups A demonstrable willingness to share information and work with other people   Desirable Proven track record in supporting children looked after Knowledge and awareness of national, regional, and international developments in Educational Psychology and Education in general Desire and ability to contribute to ongoing service development Competent research skills, data analysis, identification of trends and patterns to support the development of teaching and learning and/or the assessment of individual need Outstanding organisational skills, an ability to plan ahead, make priorities, manage workload, allocate time and cope with stress Strong professional commitment and the drive, enthusiasm, and energy to motivate others and manage change effectively
COMPETENCIES   Team Working ~ Develops team members and encourages and empowers others, delegates work to get the best from the team Service user/ outcome focused ~ sets challenging goals for self and others to achieve and improve service delivery Respect - a strong desire to treat people with care and dignity, observing the rights of other people, and helping and supporting others where you can Competent computer user including MS Teams, Outlook 365, and Microsoft office programs A demonstrable willingness to share information and work with other people, including the ability to listen, communicate with and understand others, taking account of other people’s points of view Excellent inter-personal skills including ability to communicate well orally and in writing Attitudes consistent with a positive, non-racist and equal opportunities approach Ability to travel around the County Tenacious, self-motivated and good at motivating others Responding flexibility to changing demands Dependable and able to meet deadlines Solution-focused Appropriate and successful inter-personal skills Standard of spoken and written English that enables effective communication A flexible approach to working, including out-of-hours, and an ability and willingness to travel to various locations An understanding of, and commitment to, Equal Opportunities and the ability to apply this to strategic work and day-to-day situations Must be able to perform all duties and tasks with reasonable adjustment, where appropriate, in accordance with the provisions of Equalities Act
PERFORMANCE MEASURES   Feedback from service users, colleagues and partner agencies Key Performance Indicators (where available) Line manager assessment 360 feedback from staff and colleagues Performance of the team, assessed through innovative and effective quality assurance processes

  Equality and Diversity We expect all employees to act professionally and to treat colleagues and the public with dignity and respect.  This means setting a strong personal example of good equality and diversity practice at all times and ensuring they are sensitive to the needs and views of others and reflect this in the way they behave.  Managers have additional responsibilities of managing others effectively by recognising and valuing each team member as an individual and always challenging inappropriate language and behaviour.   Health and Safety We all have a responsibility to work within health and safety legislation, associated codes of practice, North Somerset Council’s policies and procedures and our local safe systems of work and emergency arrangements.   Continuous Development Our jobs and the way we do things evolve over time and we need to keep abreast of new technologies, legislation and methodologies for our own subject areas.  We are responsible for reviewing and developing our own professional practice.